Beer-cooler



0. ZIMMER.

BEER COOLER.

(No Model.)

Patented Dec. 6,1881.

71 Z72 Mam N. PETERS, Phulo-L'rlhognphsr. Wazhingtnn, D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN ZIMMER, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

BEER-COOLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,471, dated December 6, 1881.

Application filed August 23, 1881.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN ZIMMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beer-Coolers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to that class of beercoolers more especially adapted for restaurants and saloons, wherein two or more casks of beer may be kept, and which may be used as a refrigeratorfor articles of food at the same time.

'In beer-coolers of this class as heretofore constructed the barrel or cask is brought in direct contact with the ice, or the ice is placed upon an open rack or grate, so that in either case the water from the meltingice drips onto the said barrel or cask, and thence to the bottom of the, cooler, from which it is drawn from time to time. Besides the uncleanliness inherent to such a method of cooling, there is a direct waste of ice, resulting from the fact that whenever the cooler-doors are opened for the removal of an empty cask and the substitution 7 therefor of a full one the warm air rushes in and through the ice, which at such times is melted very rapidly. In such coolers where room is provided for more than one cask they,

are generally located in one and the same chamber, so that on opening the cooler the temperature of the whole chamber is at once raised to nearly that of the outer atmosphere, the ice is melted rapidly, and requiring a comparatively long time to re-establish the former cold temperature, thereby consuming large quantities of ice to maintain the beer at the proper temperature.

In the usual construction of beer-coolers there are no means provided whereby the beer may be kept at a practically uniform temperature, or whereby the excess of cold resulting from a superabundant supply of ice may be made available.

(No model.)

The object of my invention isto remedy these defects and provide a cooling-chamber that shall be practically isolated from the ice-re-,

ceptacle by a cold-conducting material, and that shall be so arranged that the outer atmosphere shall have no access to the ice-recon tacle when the cooler is opened.

The invention has for its further object to combine with the beer-cooler a secondary or additional cooling chamber or chambers where beer or articles of food, or both, may be stored, the arrangement between the two being such as to permit of the utilization of the cooling properties of the water resulting from the melting of the ice, and also of any surplus cold in the cooler that would otherwise be wasted, thereby providing means to maintaina practically uniform temperature within the cooler proper; and to this end my invention consists, first, in a beer-cooler, a cooling chamber or chambers surrounded by an ice-receptacle on four of its sides, and a water-receptacle at bottom thereof, said cooling-chamber being practically isolated from the ice-receptacle, in combination with an inclosing-case, substantially as hereinafter more fully described; second, in a beer-cooler, the combination of two or more superposed cooling-chambers separated by a water-receptacle, in combination with an ice-receptacle surrounding the upper coolingchamber, and a valve or valves arranged to admit cold air from the upper to the lower cooling chamber or chambers, and an inclosingcase for all the chambers, substantially as hereinafter more fully described; and, third, the invention consists in certain details of construction and combination of parts, substantially as hereinafter more fully described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section; Fig. 2, a section at right angles to that of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4, horizontal transverse sections taken on lines 00w, yyof Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is aperspeotive view of the ice-receptacle and refrigerating-chan ber.

Like letters of reference are employed to indicate like parts wherever such may occur in the above figures of drawings.

A indicates an inclosing-case, made of wood and of proper size to receive the ice-receptacle and refrigerating-chamber B B and leave a and from the cooling-chamber B by a non;

perforated wall, said chambers being open at front for the introduction of the casks.

The inelosing-case A extends sotne distance below the box B B to form a chamber, Afland the walls thereof may or may not be packed, though I prefer in practice to pack them, and I make said walls thicker to form a ledge, a, upon which the box B B is firmly supported, and as said box has to sustain considerable weight-,1 place cross-pieces a, that extend from the front to the rear of the casing A, so as to provide a solid seat for said box B B.

In practice I divide each of the cooling-cham bers A B into two compartments, 0 d and cf, respectively, the upper cooling-compartments, c d, to receive each one cask, and one of the lower compartments, 6, (which, owing to the absence of the ice-receptacle, will be considerably larger,) to receive two casks, while the other compartment, f, is provided with removable shelves to support articles of food, which shelves, if necessary, may be removed and beer stored therein also. The partitions b 0 of theupper and lower cham hers, respectively, are each provided with a valve or opening, d, covered by a slide, 01 connected to a rod or wire, 01 that extends through the front door jamb, whereby the valve may be opened or closed at will.

One or more like valves, C, are provided in the bottom or water space of the box B B, said valve consisting of a tube that passes through said water-space and opens on top into the chambers c d, and at bottom into chambers e f on opposite sides of the partitions b c, and within said tube is located a valvedamper that may be tilted by means of a rod passing to the outside of the box.

Between the walls of the water-space are braces D, of galvanized iron, that extend diagonally across the water-space from corner to corner, and are united centrally to said valvetube. These braces are attached to either the lower or both walls of the water-space, and

thus form a solid floor, upon which the casks are placed, or upon which may be placed Wooden racks E, to support the casks and protect the sheet metal from injury in removing the casks or in'placing the same in the chamber. The diagonal braces D have a number of perforations or openings, as shown in Fig.

2, so as not to interrupt the flow of water which may be drawn off from time to time by the discharge-cock G.

By means of the above-described valve d d the temperature in both the upper compartments may be kept p actically uniform. If one of the casks is removed, the valve is closed, a fresh cask placed in the comparttnent.its door closed, and the valve opened,when the temperature within the previously-opened comparttnent will within a very short time be brought to its normal degree. I

In coolers of this class the temperature of the beer should, if possible, never fall below 40, nor much exceed this yet when the icereceptacle is filled the temperature will fall to 30or 35,and I then avail myself of the valve 0, which is opened to allow the cold air in the compartments 0 d to enter the compartments 6 f.

The front of the box B B has a projecting apron, b, of galvanized iron, that extends upward to the level of the doors, so as to close the compartments as much as possible and to leave a front opening of the same size nearly as the doors.

I I are sections of rubber tubes that are coupled to a sheet-metal tube, 1 arranged within the ice-receptacle. Said tube may be arranged to pass from a point near the perforated bottom of said ice-receptacle up to the top of said icereceptaele, and there open into the compartments 0 d; or it may be arranged as shown, Fig. 2, and the rubber tubes coupled thereto, one on the insideot the compartment 0 d, to be connected with the casks, and the other on ,the outside of the inclosing-ease, to be connected to any suitable aircompressin g device. By means ofthis arrangement theairis thoroughly cooled before it enters the barrel. The airtubes may, however, be arranged in any other preferred manner, so long as they traverse the ice-receptacle, whereby the air may be cooled before reaching the barrel.

Instead of forming openings in the doors through which the spigots of the barrels pass, as is the case usually, I provide drawing-off cocks L, that are permanently attached to the beer-cooler casing and employ separate short cocks M, with astraight nozzle and a rubber coupling-tube,N, coupled on the one hand to the permanently-attached drawing-off cock and on the other to the short cock of the barrel. In this manner I elfeet another economy, inasmuch as there is no aperture through which the cold air can escape when the doors are closed.

To facilitate the shipping of the beer-coolers I preferably make them in two sections, A A, the upper section being composed of the icereceptacle and cooling chamber or chambers, with its cross-pieces or supports andinclosingcase, and the lower section being composed of the chambers e f and their inclosingcase. When the cooler is to be set up the upper section is placed upon the lower one, and the cooler is ready for use. To prevent escape of cold air at the joints between the two sections I surround said joints with a molding, A, that has a packing-strip located in proper position 5 tocover said joints; or these may be packed in any other desired manner.

In practice I mount the cooler on rollers or casters, the purposes of which are obvious, and, if desired,the food-chambere maybe provided with a ventilator, such asareusuallyemployed in refrigerators.

To facilitate the introduction of ice into the sides of the ice-receptacle, (which is provided with a charging-aperture, b normally closed 1 by a door in the casing,) I form said ice-receptacle with its inner end beveled at its upper edges, as shown, so that the ice may fall down the inclined sides by gravity and need not be pushed so far over. At the same time I obtain an ice-receptacle of greater capacity at top than would be the case if the said recepta cle were square.

The same construction of cooler maybe employed for butchersrefrigerators, in which case the partition I) and lower chambers are dispensed with and the refrigerator made of the desired height. In such construction of refrigerator it will be readily seen that the articles intended for preservation are surrounded 0 by an immense cooling-surface, wherein meat or other like perishable-articles may be kept from deterioration without too great a consumption of ice, from the fact that the outer atmosphere has no access to the ice-receptacle.

5 Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

l. A beer-cooler consisting of an inclosingcase, an ice-receptacle constructed to form a cooling chamber or chambers, and a water-reservoir, said ice-receptacle forming four sides of said cooling-chamber and the water-reservoir forming the fifth side thereof, substantially as described.

5 v 2. A beer-cooler consisting of an inclosingcase, an ice-receptacle constructed to form a cooling chamber or chambers, and a water-reservoir, said ice-receptacle forming four sides of the cooling-chamber and the water-reservoir forming the fifth side thereof, in combination with an apron or shield closing in part the sixth or open side of the cooling-chamber, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

3. An ice-receptacle for beer-coolers, consistin g of adouble-walled sheet-metalcase,formin g five sides of an interior chamber, and a waterreservoir forming the fifth side of said chamber, in combination with a perforated partition to separate the water-chamber from the ice-receptacle, substantially as shown, and for the purpose specified.

4. In a beer-cooler, a combined ice-receptacle and cooling-chamber, B B, constructed substantially as described, and having its upper edges beveled off, for the purposes substantially as specified.

5. Ina beer-cooler, an inclosing-case and the double-walled ice-receptacle B, constructed as described, to form a cooling chamber or chambers, B, and a water-reservoir, 1), provided with the valved passage 0, in combination with one or more auxiliary preserving or cooling chambers located below the waterreservoir,-substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In abeer-cooler, aninclosing-case and the double-walled icereceptacle B, constructed to form the cooling-chamber B, and a waterreservoir, 1), having valved passage 0, in combination with the valved partition I) 'and one or more auxiliary chambers, ef, located below the water-reservoir, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN ZIMMER.

Witnesses:

HENRY ORTH, W. A. MCELWEE. 

